Figment of Your Imagination
by Anne Cay
Summary: Sam is accused of comitting a horrible crime and Dean finds he has doubts about his brother's innocence, especially when their sister Shayla shows up scared and bruised, claiming to be a witness to Sam's actions. Aided by Bobby, Sam and Dean piece together what happened and a more dangerous discovery of why. However, unravelling the mystery may lead Dean to commit his own crime.
1. Chapter 1

Supernatural

Figment of Your Imagination

Bobby sighed in tiredness, relieved that he could finally take a much needed break, accompanied by a much needed beer. After a long day he decided to call it quits until tomorrow. He barely had a taste of his beer, when the sound of knocking came from the front door. He looked in that direction and considered pretending he wasn't home, but his curiosity got the better of him.

Bobby opened the door startled by the sight that greeted him. He noticed the bruises right away and then the fear in her eyes.

"Shayla?" Bobby said.

Shayla looked at him, but couldn't find the words to respond.

"Come here," Bobby said, guiding her inside, "What happened?"

Shayla still didn't respond, so Bobby said, "Are you hurt?"

Shayla looked at Bobby fighting tears. "Bobby…" she whimpered as she hugged him. Concerned about her, he gently hugged her back for a few seconds.

"Maybe you should sit down," Bobby said, leading her to the couch. He poured her a drink and offered it to her, but she refused, pushing his hand away.

"You're shaking," Bobby said, "This will calm your nerves."

Shayla took the glass and finished off the drink.

"Okay," Bobby said, putting the empty glass on the table, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Shayla hesitated to answer.

"Shayla, I need to know…." Bobby started.

"Dean," Shayla said, cutting him off.

"What?" Bobby said, "Did something happen to Dean?"

"Where is Dean?" Shayla said, panic in her voice.

Bobby opened the door to Sam and Dean. Entering the house, Dean said, "Where is she?"

"Upstairs," Bobby said, "I think she finally stopped shaking."

"What happened to her?" Sam said.

"She won't say," Bobby said, "Something's scared her bad."

"You said on the phone, she was in a fight?" Dean said.

"Looks like it," Bobby said, "She's a little banged up."

"I'm going to see her," Sam said, heading for the stairs.

"Hold on," Bobby said, "She asked for Dean…not for you."

"I'm her brother too," Sam said.

"We don't know what's going on with her," Bobby said, "We don't want to overwhelm her."

"You think I would overwhelm her?" Sam said.

"Bobby, if Shayla's in trouble I'm sure she wants both of us," Dean said, approaching the stairs.

Sam looked at Bobby and hesitated for a few seconds, before following his brother.

Dean stood in the upstaris open doorway, observing Shayla as she looked out the window. Gently knocking Dean said, "Shayla?"

Shayla turned at the sound of Dean's voice, relief washing over her. She rushed over and hugged him.

"Hey," Dean said, noticing how tight she was holding on, "Are you okay?"

"I'm so glad you are," Shayla said, "I thought for sure you were going to be next."

"For what?" Dean said, "I'm okay." Dean looked at Shayla, concern crossing his face when he saw her scratches and bruises. "What happened to you?"

"I don't understand why…" Shayla started, stopping when she saw Sam enter the room. "What is he doing here?" she said.

"Are you okay?" Sam said.

Grabbing Dean's arm, Shayla cried, "Get him away from me!"

"Shayla?" Sam said, "It's me, it's Sam."

"Stay away from me!" Shayla yelled.

"Okay," Sam said, as Bobby rushed to the doorway, "Everything's going to be alright. What happened to you?"

"As if you don't know," Shayla said.

"I don't," Sam said.

"You're going to stand there and feign innocence, after what you did?" Shayla said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sam said.

"What did Sam do?" Dean said.

"He killed him…" Shayla said.

"Who?" Bobby said.

"Cas," Shayla said, "Sam killed Cas."

Dean looked at his brother.

"You can't be serious," Sam started, "I didn't kill anyone, least of all Cas."

"Just like you didn't come after me?" Shayla said.

"Hold on," Sam said, "You're suggesting I did this to you? No way, I

would never hurt you."

"I don't expect you to admit it in front of them," Shayla said.

"Shayla," Sam pleaded, stepping towards her.

"I said, stay away from me!" Shayla said.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Sam said.

"Sam back off," Dean said, "Maybe you should wait downstairs."

"I didn't do this," Sam said.

"Regardless, you're scaring her now," Dean said, "Wait downstairs."

"Come on," Bobby said, guiding Sam away, "Let's give them some privacy."

After they left the room, Shayla said, "He's lying."

"Tell me what happened," Dean said.

"I was out running errands," Shayla started, "And as I was walking to my car, I heard muffled sounds coming from the back of the parking lot. I looked over and saw two people fighting, it was Sam and Cas."

"They were fighting physically?" Dean said.

"Yes," Shayla said, "Somehow, Sam got a hold of some kind of sword and…" She couldn't finish.

"Are you saying Sam struck Cas with the sword and that's how he killed him?" Dean said.

Shayla nodded. "Cas never saw it coming, he didn't have a chance," she said, "Sam realized I saw what happened and he came after me."

"Sam did?" Dean said.

"I know, I never would have thought he would hurt me," Shayla said, "For a moment I thought he was going to kill me too."

"What stopped him?" Dean said.

"I did," Shayla said, "I was able to fight him off and ran to my car. That's when I came here. I didn't know where else to go."

"That's okay, you did the right thing," Dean said, "And you're sure that's how it went down?"

"Of course, I'm sure," Shayla said, "You don't believe me?"

"I know something happened," Dean said, "It just doesn't add up. First of all, I don't believe Sam would ever willingly hurt you. Also, Cas and Sam in a fight, Sam would be the one who wouldn't stand a chance. Cas would have used his powers to defend himself. Plus, you said you were able to fight Sam off? Shayla, Sam is a lot bigger than you, a whole lot, and he's stronger than you," Dean said.

"I fought as hard as I could," Shayla said, "But you don't believe me."

"I don't know," Dean sighed, "Let's sit down with Sam and see if we can clear this up."

"An angel sword…" Sam said, "I wouldn't even know how to find one."

"I saw you," Shayla said.

"Sam looks pretty good for someone who was in a fight," Dean said, "Not a scratch on him."

"That's because I wasn't in one," Sam said.

"Here's an easy solution," Bobby said, "Let's call Cas and I'm sure he'll be here and prove he's fine too."

"He won't come," Shayla said, "He can't."

"You'll see," Dean reassured, before he called, "Castiel? We need to see you down here." They waited a few seconds and there was no response. "Come on Cas," Dean said, "This is important. Can you give us five minutes?"

Still Castiel did not appear.

"I told you," Shayla said, "He's gone." She looked at Sam and said, "Because of you."

"I'm only going to say this one more time," Sam said, "I did not, would not kill him!"

"Look let's try and keep out heads here," Dean said.

"Of course you're going to side with him," Shayla said.

"Where do you get that I'm siding with anyone?" Dean said, "I'm trying to help _you_ sort this out."

"You think this whole thing is in my head," Shayla said, "Like I had a vision or dream. Look at me, is this in my head too? I know you want to believe that Sam is so innocent…"

"How do I make you understand?" Sam said.

"Oh, I understand," Shayla said, "You made sure of that."

"No, you don't," Sam said.

"Come on, you two…" Dean started trying to stop the argument.

"I know something happened," Sam said, "But I think you're confused."

"I can't believe you are standing there defending what you did," Shayla said.

Sam threw his hands up in exasperation. "Dean, can you talk some sense into her?" he said.

Dean looked at his brother unsure of what to say.

Sam paused before he said, "You believe her? You think I did this?"

"I don't know…" Dean started.

"You don't know?" Sam said, "It's nice to know you have so much faith in me."

"Where were you earlier?" Dean said.

"I was out," Sam said.

"What were you doing?" Dean said.

"Getting supplies," Sam said, "I told you that before I left."

Dean nodded and his gaze still fixated on Sam. "You think I'm lying," Sam said.

"I don't want to believe it Sam," Dean said, "But she's hurt and Cas is M.I.A."

"Dean, come on…" Sam said.

"Put yourself in my position," Dean said, "If she was telling you the same thing about me, you would have doubts too!"

"That shows how much you know me," Sam said.

"All of you knock it off!" Bobby said, "You're in my house and under my roof, if you want to argue like this, take it outside!"

They all fell silent, until a voice said, "Am I interrupting?"

They all turned around, taken aback at who they saw.


	2. Chapter 2

"Cas?" Dean said.

"You called," Castiel said, "You said it was important?"

Shayla stared at Castiel in disbelief, as Dean said, "You're alive."

"You sound surprised," Castiel said.

"We had a difference of opinion on your well being," Dean said.

"I don't understand," Castiel said.

"Shayla had a misconception that you were…dead," Dean said.

Castiel looked at Shayla and reassured, "I'm fine."

Shayla still stared at him. Dean guided Castiel towards her and said, "You heard him, he's fine."

Shayla reached out and touched his arm, as if unsure he was real.

"I don't understand why you…." Castiel started, cut off when Shayla threw her arms around him, catching him off guard.

Castiel shifted his eyes to Dean, question in his face. Dean motioned for Castiel to reciprocate the hug. Castiel was hesitant as he put his arms around her.

Shayla let go, Castiel taking the cue to do the same. "I'm sorry," Shayla said, "I thought you were dead."

"Why?" Castiel said.

"Because I saw…." Shayla trailed off, realizing she had been mistaken.

"She thought she saw someone kill you," Dean said.

"Let's be honest, she thought it was me," Sam said.

Shayla looked at Sam, who questioningly raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, there he stands," Sam said, "Safe and sound."

Looking at Shayla, Castiel said, "You're hurt." He raised two fingers to her forehead and sent a force of energy through her, a shock that caused her to stumble a few feet backward.

"Easy," Dean said, catching her arm. He could see her injuries had completely disappeared.

Shayla looked at her arms and felt her neck and face and knew she was healed. She looked at Castiel in amazement and said, "Did you do heal me?"

"Yes," Castiel said.

"You can do that?" Shayla said. She looked at Dean, "Did you know he could do that?"

"Yeah," Dean said.

Focusing back on Castiel she said, "Thank you."

"Of course," Castiel nodded.

Shayla looked at Sam and said, "Sam, I don't know what to say. I know what I saw, at least I thought I did."

"I think what you saw, may have been what someone else wanted you to see," Bobby said.

"Meaning?" Dean said.

"Shayla, you saw something alright," Bobby started, "Except something made you believe it was Sam and Cas."

"How is that possible?" Shayla said.

"A hope to control another's thoughts, is a very real threat," Castiel said.

"Mind control," Dean said.

"How would someone do that to me?" Shayla said.

"There could be a lot of ways," Sam said, "But I don't think it was a mind game, you had physical bruises."

Shayla looked at her brother and said, "Sam, I'm so sorry."

"At least you're not scared of me anymore," Sam said, walking past her.

"Dude, she apologized," Dean said.

"I know, I heard her," Sam said.

"I believe, it's customary to accept one's apology," Castiel said.

Sam stopped in his tracks and sighed, before he said, "You, were not here earlier." Sam opened the front door.

"Sam…" Shayla called.

Ignoring her, Sam walked outside, shutting the door hard behind him.

"You can't really blame him, we were pretty hard on him," Dean said.

"Give him some time he'll cool off," Bobby said.

"Right, in the meantime I say we check out that parking lot," Dean said.

"Wow, I'm never going to get used to that," Shayla said, as she and Dean arrived in the parking lot, courtesy of Castiel.

"Cas, we've talked about warning people before you do that," Dean said.

"I was trying to save time" Castiel said.

"Shayla, is this where it happened?" Dean said.

"Yes," Shayla said. Pointing to the back fence of the lot, she continued, "I heard raised voices and I saw Sam and Cas fighting . They were right there."

"More likely, someone wanted you to believe it was Sam and me," Castiel said.

"How would somebody do that?" Shayla said, "And why?"

Dean looked across the road, observing the row of stores as he said, "Did you got into any of those places over there?"

"I went into the clothing store, picked up a few grocery items and a prescription at the drug store," Shayla said.

"Why are you sick?" Dean said.

"No, it's just something I needed," Shayla said, "I'm fine."

"Did you take any of it?" Dean said

"Yes, I took one as soon as I got in my car," Shayla said.

"I thought you said you didn't get in the car before you saw the fight," Dean said.

"I didn't think I had, but now I remember," Shayla said.

"Where are they now?" Dean said.

"At Bobby's, in my car," Shayla said.

Castiel disappeared for a second and then reappeared, holding a prescription bottle, "Are these them?" he said.

"Taking them from him , Shayla said, "Did you just go into my car?"

"It wasn't locked," Castiel said.

"Dean was examining the ground along the fence where something caught his eye. Crouching he grabbed hold of a 5 inch high doll, made of cloth. Straightening up, Dean examined the beaded eyes and strands of dark yarn hair sewn into it. The doll had not other detailed features, just limp arms and legs attached the body.

"What is that?" Shayla said.

"I don't know,' Dean said, "But it's creepy.''

"Where did you say Sam and I fought?" Castiel said.

"Right there," Shayla said.

"Right where I found this?" Dean said, gesturing to the doll. He looked at Castiel and said, "What are you thinking?"

Taking the doll, Castiel said, "This resembles an object used in ancient rituals where the dolls contained magic and were used to inflict pain and suffering on people."

"Voodoo dolls?" Dean said.

"That's one term for them," Castiel said.

"Come on," Dean said, "You don't really think…" Dean and Castiel looked at the doll and then at Shayla.

"What?" Shayla said, "Is that thing supposed to be me?"

"I don't know," Dean sighed, "I think we need to visit that pharmacy."

The automatic door revealed the entrance way of the drug store, as Dean stepped inside followed by Shayla and Castiel. "Where's the pharmacy counter?" Dean said.

"At the back," Shayla said.

Leading the way, Shayla was spotted by a clerk stocking shelves. Smiling he said, "You came back."

"Oh no," Shayla sighed.

"Did you reconsider?' The clerk said.

"No," Shayla said, "Excuse me."

Stepping in front of her, the clerk said, "Come on, I can be a fun guy."

"I think she said, excuse me," Dean said, walking Shayla past him.

Castiel stood in the aisle looking around the store. The clerk watched him for a few seconds before he said, "Can I help you?"

"I need dolls," Castiel said.

"I'm sorry?" the clerk said.

"Are the any in the store?" Castiel said.

"This is a pharmacy," the clerk said.

"I'm aware of that," Castiel said, "I'm looking for dolls."

"This is for your daughter?" the clerk guessed.

"I don't have any children," Castiel said.

"Well, we have some stuffed animals a few aisles over," the clerk said, pointing in that direction.

Castiel walked towards the other aisle, as the clerk shook his head in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Dean said, gaining the attention of a brunette girl behind the pharmacy counter, "I need to see the pharmacist."

The girl looked at him with tired eyes, "What about?" she said.

"It's about this," Dean said, showing her the prescription bottle.

"Iggy," she called out, "These people need to see you."

"Dean mouthed 'Iggy' to Shayla in amusement and they shared a smile.

A man approached them, Shayla remembering him as the pharmacist, that had served her before. He was neat in appearance, his hair short & shaggy a look that appealed to Shayla.

"Can I help you?" he said.

Reading off the prescription bottle Dean said, "Are you I. Mayfield?"

"That's me," the pharmacist said.

Gesturing to his nametag Dean said, "It's nice to know what the 'I' stands for."

The pharmacist smiled and said, "I can only blame my parents. I've had to go through life saying, 'I'm Iggy'. You should have heard what they called me in school."

"Kids can be so kind," Dean said, with a tone of sarcasm, "The reason we're here is this prescription." Dean placed it on the counter.

"Is there a problem with it?" Iggy said, picking it up.

"I was worried about side effects," Shayla said.

"They should be mild, maybe some stomach upset," Iggy said.

"You see a buddy of mine had these once," Dean said, "And he started to hallucinate."

"Is that right?" Iggy said.

"Oh yeah he thought swarms of bees were after him, only there was nothing there," Dean said, "Is that common with this drug?"

"I can't say I've heard of that before," Iggy said, "There could be other reasons for the hallucinations."

"Like what?" Dean said.

"I don't know," Iggy laughed, "Maybe the medicine interacted with another."

"Or maybe someone tampered with the medication," Dean said, staring right at the pharmacist.

"Sir, do you have something to say?" Iggy said.

Dean didn't answer, so Shayla said, "It's just that I took this medication and I got a little dizziness. I felt really strange."

"It's possible," Iggy said, "Some people can have reactions different from others. I can't explain what happened to your friend, but please be assured, my pharmacy would not be subjected to tampering."

"Of course, I didn't mean to accuse," Dean said, "I just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to start seeing people that weren't there."

Iggy nodded. "I hope I put your fears to rest."

"Yes, thank you," Shayla nodded.

Iggy turned to leave when Dean called him back. "Oh by the way," he said, "Do you have any dolls?"

"Dolls?" Iggy questioned.

"Yeah, little cloth dolls a few inches high?" Dean said, "My niece had one, just loved the thing and she lost it. I was hoping to find another one."

Iggy shook his head, "Sorry, we don't have anything like that. You might want to try the toy shop across town."

"Sure, thanks," Dean said.

Walking away from the counter, Shayla said, "Did you see what I saw in the corner of the pharmacy?"

"You mean the doll?" Dean said, "Like I found in the parking lot?"

"What do you think it means?" Shayla said.

"I think our friend Iggy, may be a target," Dean said.

They suddenly heard wild laughter from a few aisles over. Approaching the sound, they saw Castiel holding a stuffed cat that was making the noise.

"Cas?" Dean said.

The sound stopped as Castiel looked it over. "I find this disturbing," he said.

"So, did the rest of the store," Shayla said, taking it from him and placing it back on the shelf.

"What are you doing?" Dean said.

"I asked about the dolls," Castiel said, "The clerk suggested I check this section."

"Did he say they had any of those dolls?" Dean said.

"No," Castiel said, "It was an increasingly uncomfortable conversation."

"I'm sure," Dean said, "Listen, take the doll and the prescription, tell Sam and Bobby what we know and see if they can come up with anything. We are going to stay and see if we can figure out how that pharmacy is involved."


	3. Chapter 3

"Have you cooled down?" Bobby said, as Sam strolled back into the house.

"Where is everyone ?" Sam said.

"They went to investigate your sister's incident," Bobby said.

"I didn't see them leave," Sam said.

"They traveled courtesy of Cas," Bobby said.

"Without me?" Sam said.

"You weren't exactly pleasant to be around earlier," Bobby said

"I wasn't pleasant?" Sam recoiled, "They all believed I had done this horrible thing."

"We all know you didn't…" Bobby started, cut off by the arrival of Castiel.

"Cas?" Sam said.

"Where are Dean and Shayla?" Bobby said.

"They stayed behind," Castiel said, "There were clues to look into."

"What are you talking about?" Sam said.

Producing the doll, Castiel said, "We found this in the parking lot where Shayla thought she saw us fighting. We suspect it might be some type of voodoo doll."

Taking the doll, Sam said, "You think somebody used this on Shayla?"

"These have been used in the past to inflict pain and suffering," Castiel said.

"They can be used for mind control," Bobby said, walking to his desk. Looking at Sam he said, "While you were outside pouting, I did some research."

He flipped through pages of a book, several inches thick, locating the desired text a quarter of the way through. "Voodoo dolls," Bobby read aloud, "Used to trigger feelings, thoughts or hallucinatory visions into another person's mind. They can also be used to cause pain, altered or erased memories, or to completely take over another person's actions."

"There's a sketch here that resembles that doll you found," Bobby said, turning the book around to show Sam and Castiel.

"If these can be used to inflict pain," Sam started, "Is it possible that's how Shayla got her bruises?"

"You mean all someone had to do was throw that thing around and she would feel the effects?" Bobby said, "I suppose it's possible."

"It also may have something to do with this," Castiel said, handing the prescription bottle to Sam.

"These are Shayla's?" Sam said, reading the label, "Is she sick?"

Bobby peeked at the label and said, "Those are pain relievers. Maybe we're not dealing with voodoo at all, could just be side effects."

"I wonder why she needs these," Sam said, concern in his voice. He sat down at his computer and searched the name of the drug. Locating it, he said, "They can be used for a lot of different things. Only known side effects are nausea, dizziness and sleep disturbances."

"No hallucinations?" Bobby said.

"None," Sam said, "Bobby, does that book say how to stop the voodoo?"

"The easiest way is to have the person who cast the magic, reverse it," Bobby said.

"Except we don't know who that is," Sam said, "Any other options?"

"Well, there is the ritual of burning the doll, while reciting a passage written here," Bobby said.

"We've got the doll, let's do that," Sam said.

"Not so fast," Bobby said, "You have to do it in the presence of the one who cast the spell."

Sam sighed. "I need to talk to Dean." Looking at Castiel, he said, "Where did you say they were?"

"You know, I didn't think Cas would strand us here," Dean said, as he sat with Shayla, at a café, in the same plaza as the pharmacy.

"You could call Sam, to come and pick us up," Shayla said, sitting in front of the café computer.

"Sam, doesn't want to talk to us, remember?" Dean said.

"I'm sure he's over it by now," Shayla said.

"You don't know Sam," Dean said, "He knows how to hold a grudge. Also, he would leave me here just to…"

"I found something," Shayla said, cutting Dean off. Reading off the computer, she said, "This woman killed her husband because she believed he was with another man…and this article says one student accused another of cheating on an exam, resulting in that student being expelled and he later killed himself."

"Tragic tales, but what does that have to do with us?" Dean said.

"Both accusations were proven to be false, and look at the corner of this photo. Is that a doll's leg?" Shayla said.

Dean pulled his chair over to the computer to take a closer look, forcing Shayla to move her own chair over, frowning at him as she did.

"Go back to the cheating spouse," Dean said. Pointing to the news photo, he said, "I'd say that's a doll's arm."

"This is getting complicated," Shayla said.

"Oh, I don't know," Dean said, "There's another similarity."

"There is?" Shayla said.

"These articles are written by the same person," Dean said, "Lucas Cramer. Sounds like someone we should talk to."

Shayla recalled a memory of the clerk in the pharmacy. 'Come on, I can be a fun guy', he had said to her, when she caught sight of his name tag.

"It's the clerk," she said.

"What?" Dean said.

"The clerk in the pharmacy," Shayla said, "The one who was flirting with me, Lucas Cramer was on his name tag."

"What's a reporter doing, stocking shelves in a store?" Dean said.

"Targeting the nice, handsome pharmacist with voodoo magic?" Shayla said.

"You mean Iggy?" Dean said. Shayla blushed. Dean shook his head at her and stood up to leave.

As they walked back across the parking lot, Shayla said, "Shouldn't we warn him or go after the clerk?"

Dean pulled out his phone and said, "I am not going in there unarmed."

Sam's phone rang and noticing it was Dean, he hesitated to answer it. Deciding it was best to talk to his brother Sam answered the call. "Dean…" he said.

"Yeah, Sam it's me," Dean said, "Listen, I…" Dean was suddenly cut off as he was hit from behind, falling unconscious to the ground.

"Dean!" Shayla cried, crouching beside him.

Hearing the commotion on the other end, Sam said, "Dean? Shayla?" Sam's phone cut off as he lost the connection.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shayla saw a pair of legs standing beside her. She cautiously looked up to see Lucas Cramer, holding a wooden board. "What did you do to him?" she said.

The sound of clapping could be heard approaching them accompanied by a familiar voice. "Well, done Mr. Cramer," Iggy said, "Nice job. I assume you can handle the girl, I'll take care of the other one."

Lucas grabbed Shayla, who said, "What is going on?"

"The excitement is about to start and you and your friend are a big part of it," Iggy said, smiling at her.

"You should have agreed to go out with me," Lucas said, "It would have been much easier."

Dean groaned as he came to, blinking his eyes as he focused on his surroundings.

"Dean?" He heard Shayla's voice from beside him. He tried to move, but felt restricted, and realized he was tied to a chair. Looking at Shayla he realized that she was also tied down.

"What's going on?" Dean said.

"Are you alright?" Shayla said.

Dean paused before he said, "Do I look alright?"

"Look who's up," Lucas said, strolling towards them.

"I see we're back in the pharmacy," Dean said, "Although if you're customers see this they might have questions."

"You think you're funny don't you?" Lucas said.

"Relatively," Dean nodded, "I had a feeling you were behind this. Do you know what you did to her?"

"I never touched her," Lucas said.

"No, but we know all about your voodoo dolls and magic spells," Dean said.

"Then it's working," Lucas said, "Tell me are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"So what if we are?" Dean said, thinking the lie might keep Shayla safer.

"Lucas don't antagonize our guests," Iggy said, walking up from behind them.

"You?" Dean said, "You're part of this?

"This is all my grand plan," Iggy said, "I just needed some players and now I have some."

"You drugged her and then used some funky magic on her," Dean said.

"The drug had nothing to do with it," Iggy said, "It was a standard pain reliever. And if you had left well enough alone, you two would not be in this situation. When you accused me of tampering my prescriptions that upset me."

"What do you want from us?" Shayla said.

"You are going to be the subjects of an experiment," Iggy said, "I've been working on a spell for awhile, now is the perfect time to test it."

"Are you going to make us dance?" Dean said.

"You're going to need that sense of humor," Iggy said.

"Why's that?" Dean said.

"Because one of you is going to kill the other," Iggy said, "And then himself…or herself. I haven't decided yet."

Shayla looked anxiously at Dean who nodded reassuringly at her. "You can't make me hurt him, I won't," she said.

"You'd be surprised what I can do," Iggy said, "Don't worry, your friend is going to kill you first."

"Guess again," Dean said.

"Iggy," Lucas said, "You never said anything about killing them. I mean, I don't care if you get rid of him, but not the girl."

"Hey," Dean said.

Shayla's eyes drifted across the store when she caught sight of something moving in the aisle. Looking more closely she saw Sam peeking around the corner. He put a finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet.

"We can do a spell and make her forget all about this," Lucas said, "And the guy disappears."

Shayla looked at Dean and mouthed the words, "Sam" and slightly nodded her head in Sam's direction. Dean noticed his brother, who nodded that he was there to help.

"We can't let her go," Iggy said, "Maybe if one of us hadn't gone out on his own and used the magic on the girl, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"So, it was you who did this to me," Shayla said.

"I thought if you had a scare, you would come running back in here for help," Lucas said.

"So you could play the hero?" Shayla said, "You did all that to get a date?"

Lucas looked at her sheepishly. "You turned me down, when I asked you."

"I guess she didn't want to be tied down in a relationship," Dean tried to joke.

Shayla looked sharply at him. "Not the time," she said. This time Dean had the sheepish look.

Recovering his pride, Dean said, "What about all those other people you hurt? What's your end game?"

"Those were my creations," Iggy said, "I do the deed and Mr. Cramer, reports it and gets the glory."

"What do you get?" Shayla said.

"Satisfaction of a job well done," Iggy said, "I am the keeper of the mind. To be able to control people, what they think, say and do is amazing."

"It's also sick," Dean said.

"Let's begin the demonstration," Iggy said. He picked up a gun and walked towards Dean and Shayla.

"Drop it!" They all looked in the direction of the voice. Sam was walking towards them, his weapon drawn.

"We're closed," Iggy said, "Private party."

"I'm crashing it," Sam said.


	4. Chapter 4

"Put the gun down and let them go," Sam ordered.

"Lucas, take care of our customer," Iggy said.

Lucas began to recite a spell in a foreign language, and with a doll in hand he squeezed the middle of it.

Dropping his weapon Sam cried out in pain as he grabbed his stomach.

"Sam!" Dean yelled.

Lucas recited a few more verses, and Sam collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain.

"Stop it!" Shayla cried.

Watching Sam, Iggy said, "I do love my job. Now where were we?"

Iggy approached Shayla and began to untie her, as Lucas stood guard, to prevent her from running.

"What are you doing?" Dean said, "Leave her alone!"

Iggy began to recite a spell as he untied Dean. As the spell was spoken, Iggy slipped a doll in Dean's jacket pocket , and Shayla saw Dean's composure change.

'What did you do to him?" Shayla said.

"The question is what is he going to do to you?" Iggy said.

Shayla tried to take a step away, but Lucas stepped closer to prevent her. "Help me," she whispered to him.

"I don't think so," Lucas said, "Like I said, you should have gone out with me."

"Okay, fine, I'll go out with you," Shayla said, "As long as you don't hurt my brothers."

"Your brothers?" Lucas said, "I thought….so you lied to me."

"Stand up," Iggy ordered. Dean did as he was told.

"Dean?" Sam groaned. He tried to get to him, but his pain was too intense.

"Don't let him do this," Shayla pleaded to Lucas, "Help us."

"I don't think so," Lucas said.

Iggy put the gun in Dean's hand stepped back and said, "Now." Powerless to stop himself, Dean raised his arm, pointing the gun at Shayla.

"Dean…" Shayla said, "Dean, no…"

Dean's heart was pounding as he was completely aware of what he was doing, but his actions were beyond his control.

"Dean…no," Sam moaned.

Sweat was beginning to run down Dean's face and his arm was shaking. A single tear slipped out, as he said, "I'm sorry."

Dean pulled the trigger, just as Castiel swooped in pushing Shayla to the floor, shielding her from harm.

The shot instead hit Iggy, who fell and lay still.

"Iggy?" Lucas said.

Released from the spell, Dean dropped his aim, as Castiel helped Shayla stand up. "Are you alright?" he said.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Shayla said, "Thanks."

She looked at Dean, who was looking at her with relief. "I tried not to," Dean said, "I just couldn't stop myself."

"It wasn't your fault, I know he was making you do it," Shayla said, hugging him.

Lucas turned to run, but Sam was standing in his path. "Going somewhere?" Sam said

"No way…" Lucas said, "I didn't release you."

"I don't think the magic works without your friend over there," Sam said.

Lucas held the doll towards Sam and squeezed it. Sam simply raised his eyebrows at him. Trying again, Lucas held the doll high towards Sam and again pressed against it, without result.

Sam snatched the doll from Lucas and shoved him towards the others.

Dean was checking Iggy, as Shayla said, "Is he..?"

"Yeah," Dean said.

"Then it's over?" Shayla said.

"I don't know," Dean said, "Is it Lucas?"

"Yeah," Lucas said, "It was strange, Iggy had some kind of power."

"Is that all it was?" Dean said.

"Not quite," Sam said, "To really make sure the magic is gone, all the dolls need to be destroyed."

"Where are they?" Dean said.

"In the back," Lucas sighed.

"Show me," Dean said.

As Dean followed Lucas, Shayla said, "Sam, I am so sorry about before."

"It's okay," Sam smiled at her, "I understand you were under influence."

"I will try not to doubt you again," Shayla said.

"I will try not to give you a reason to," Sam said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Fire crackled as a pile of dolls burned before the four of them.

"I used to play with them," Shayla said, "I'll never look at them the same way again."

Lucas looked at her and said, "I guess you still won't go out with me?"

Shayla looked at him in amazement. "Unbelievable," she said.

"Is that a maybe?" Lucas said.

Sam caught Shayla's arm as she struck out towards Lucas. "Okay," Sam said moving her away from him.

"Fair enough," Lucas said, "Listen, you guys take off, I'll take care of Iggy."

"What does that mean?" Sam said.

"Don't worry, no magic," Lucas said, "Not after this. I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

"Trust you?" Dean said.

"Yeah," Lucas smiled and walked away.

"Should we let him go?" Sam said.

"I don't think he can do any harm now," Dean said.

There was an awkward pause between them until Dean said, "Sam, we're good now right?"

"You know, this is what happens when you go on field trips without me," Sam teased.

"Of course we need you to keep everything running smoothly," Dean said, his sarcasm returning, "Sam _never_ gets into trouble."

Sam slightly laughed, he knew better than to banter with Dean, who would always have the last word.

"Hey, Shayla, are you okay?" Sam said, "Why did you need those pain relievers?"

"I'm fine, it's just for migraines," Shayla said, "Which the two of you are giving me right now, can we go?"

"Good idea," Dean said, "Sam where did you park the car?"

Sam looked at Dean and said, "The car is at Bobby's, I came with Cas."

"Where is Cas?" Shayla said, as they all looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't believe it," Dean said, "He stranded us again."

"I bet you he is somewhere laughing," Shayla said.

"Cas!" Dean said, "He's impossible."

"He did save out lives back there," Shayla said.

Dean gave her an exasperated look, before he yelled, "Cas! Come on!"

Same raised his arm and called, "Taxi…"


End file.
